October 27, 2007 (Dusseldorf, Germany) – Two youngsters, 21-year-old Natalia Matveeva (Rus) and 22-year old Josef Wenzl (Ger) took victory in the season opening cross-country city sprint race in Duesseldorf (GER) Saturday. Matveeva, who finished third in 2005 and second in 2006 in Duesseldorf, claimed the top spot ahead of Marit Bjoergen (Nor). Anna Dahlberg of Sweden finished third ahead of Arianna Follis (Ita, 4th place), For Matveeva, it was the first World Cup victory in her career and her 4th podium place

Wenzl of Germany delivered a very strong performance in all the heats, leading from start to finish in all of them except for one, and succeeded with this tactic. 2006 Olympic Champion, Bjoern Lind (Swe) finished second while John Kristian Dahl of Norway took third ahead of teammate Petter Northug (Nor, 4th place). Like Matveeva, Wenzl also won his first World Cup competition. Prior to today’s win, his best result was the sixth place in Duesseldorf last year.

Canada’s Chandra Crawford finished 10th in the women’s 0.8km sprint after a tough semi-final and the USA’s Andy Newell had a strong performance as well finishing 19th in the men’s sprint.

The showcase event along the Rhine river was held in front of thousands of screaming fans – 4,000 cubic metres of snow were brought to Düsseldorf in 150 truck deliveries for today’s race.

Results

Women – 0.8km
1. Natalia Matveeva (Rus)
2. Marit Bjoergen (Nor)
3. Anna Dahlberg (Swe)
4. Arianna Follis (Ita)
5. Seraina Mischol (Sui)

10. Chandra Crawford (Can) Canmore, Alta.
41. Perianne Jones (Can) Almonte, Ont.

For complete women’s results click here.

Men – 1.5km
1. Josef Wenzl (Ger)
2. Bjoern Lind (Swe)
3. John Kristian Dahl (Nor)
4. Petter Northug (Nor)
5. Marcus Hellner (Swe)

19. Andy Newell (USA)
36. Phil Widmer (Can) Banff, Alta.
43. Torin Koos (USA)
60. Stefan Kuhn (Can) Canmore, Alta.
70. Sean Crooks (Can) Thunder Bay, Ont.
71. Dave Nighbor (Can) North Bay, Ont.

For complete men’s results click
here.